2025 Safest Year On Record For This NYC Borough, NYPD Says

BROOKLYN, NY — Brooklyn wrapped up 2025 with a continued drop in crime, the NYPD said, recording the safest year in the borough’s history.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez added that the year also saw record lows in homicides and shooting homicides, both falling about 25 percent. Shooting incidents and shooting victims also dropped, by 15 percent and 11 percent respectively, improving on last year’s numbers.

Brooklyn was the only borough where all four categories have declined each year since peaking in 2020, officials said.

"Brooklyn’s record-low homicides and gun violence prove that community engagement, fairness, and trust make neighborhoods safer," Gonzalez said. "By listening to residents, holding the most dangerous offenders accountable, and breaking cycles of violence, we are showing that safety comes from partnership, not vilifying our neighbors."

Gonzalez reported that Brooklyn recorded 91 murders in 2025, a drop from 120 the previous year and breaking the previous low of 98 set in 2018. Shooting homicides fell 25 percent, from 63 in 2024 to 47, surpassing prior lows recorded in 2017 and 2019.

After reaching historic lows last year, shootings and shooting victims continued to decline, with 244 shooting incidents—43 fewer than last year, a 15 percent drop—and 307 victims, 40 fewer or an 11 percent decline, officials said.

Since 2020, when violence surged to levels not seen in a decade amid the pandemic, homicides have fallen 48 percent and shootings 63 percent.

Gun violence in and around housing developments fell even more sharply, with homicides down 41 percent, shootings down 31 percent, and shooting incidents down 32 percent. The borough also experienced three stretches of 17 days without a single homicide and two nine-day periods without a shooting victim.

The biggest drop in homicides came in Brownsville, which saw seven murders compared with 21 the previous year—a 67 percent decline. Crown Heights recorded five homicides, down from 12, while Bensonhurst had none after six the year before.

Other precincts with zero homicides in 2025 included Bay Ridge, Borough Park, and Greenpoint. Crown Heights, Brownsville and East New York also recorded the largest reductions in shootings, Gonzalez added.

"The historic decline in gun violence in Brooklyn over the past five years, and especially this past year, is nothing short of remarkable," the District Attorney said. "I intend to keep up the progress we’ve made in other areas, such as retail theft and combatting fraud.”